Florida Democrats may get buzz from medical marijuana

MIAMI (Reuters) - A November ballot measure to legalize
marijuana for medicinal use in Florida could have a decidedly
political side effect.

The ballot proposal, which was approved by Florida's Supreme
Court on Monday, is so popular it could help Democrats unseat
the state's Republican Governor, Rick Scott, who is up for
re-election in November.

Democrats believe it could energize their base in a midterm
electoral season that generally results in low turn out, while
polls show even a majority of Florida Republicans support
medical marijuana use.

Scott opposes the ballot initiative and is trailing in polls
to his main challenger, former governor Charlie Crist, who
favors legalization. That could set the stage for a political
battle in a state that is both a harsh enforcer of drug laws and
a major pot producer.

Florida's contest is the only gubernatorial election in a
big swing state in November's midterm elections, and a
Democratic victory would be a major blow to the Republican party
heading into the 2016 presidential race.

Scott tried to block the ballot, arguing the wording was too
vague and could allow almost anyone to get their hands on the
drug, but the state Supreme Court approved it, nonetheless.

As many as 70 percent of registered Republicans in Florida
favored medical marijuana in a November Quinnipiac University
poll. Support was even higher among Democrats at 87 percent, and
independents at 88 percent.

Republican political consultant Rick Wilson said the party
should "get out in front" of a rapidly evolving change in
public attitudes toward the drug.

"Americans have sort of made up their minds about a certain
amount of marijuana in society," said Tallahassee-based Wilson,
citing recent votes in Colorado and Washington state.

PUBLIC SENTIMENT

Florida's pro-marijuana push has been gaining ground as
stories emerge of what it can do for the sick.

Some Republican state legislators back the legalization of a
medicinal strain of marijuana, known as Charlotte's Web, that is
believed to reduce seizures in children with an extreme form of
epilepsy.

Katherine Hsiao's seven-year-old son, Kael, suffers from
Dravet syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes dozens of
seizures daily, and must currently take a cocktail of drugs with
harmful side-effects.

Hsiao and her husband, who are Republicans, are considering
moving to Colorado where Charlotte's Web is legal, and might
also switch their vote if the law is not changed.

"If they refuse, it is because of a willful disregard for
the weakest of their constituents. And I would not want someone
like that in public office," said Hsiao.

Opponents argue that medical marijuana will not be dispensed
in a controlled setting.

"The groups ... who have pushed for marijuana to be
legalized have painted the perception that marijuana is a
harmless drug by saying it's safer than alcohol," said Calvina
Fay, director of the Drug Free America Foundation.

Colorado, which this month became the first state with
legalized recreational marijuana, is one of 20 states across the
country that allow medical marijuana. New York, Washington D.C.,
Alaska and Alabama, are also grappling with the issue.

Turnout among millennials goes down in midterm elections,
said Susan MacManus, a political scientist at the University of
South Florida. But medical marijuana is seen by some political
strategists as a "very mobilizing issue to bring out young
voters," she added.

Florida has not elected a Democrat as governor since 1994,
while Republicans have also cemented their control over both
legislative houses.

Scott could choose to leave it to voters as a matter of
personal choice, rather than risk going up against marijuana ads
featuring war veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder, or cancer patients and parents of epilepsy sufferers.

Crist may also keep it at arms length, preferring not to be
branded as the "pro-pot" candidate.

COST OF ENFORCEMENT

The Florida Sheriffs Association voted almost unanimously
this month to oppose medical marijuana, saying it would lead to
more crime and traffic accidents.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who heads the association,
described the initiative as a "fraudulent" effort to fully
legalize marijuana.

In 2012, law enforcement uncovered 540 marijuana grow houses
in Florida, more than any other state in the country. While
medical marijuana legalization will not stop the state's black
market, some law enforcement experts argue it could help reduce
the violent crime associated with illegal drugs and reduce the
prison population.

In 2010, Florida ranked third in the nation for marijuana
arrests, with 57,951, behind New York and Texas, according to
the American Civil Liberties Union. The number accounted for
more than 40 percent of the state's total arrests that year at a
cost of $125.6 million.

Prominent Orlando attorney John Morgan, the former employer
and a longtime backer of Crist, has pumped $3 million into the
ballot effort that collected 1.1 million signatures.

He denies the marijuana initiative was planned by Democrats
as an election ploy.

"I never saw this as a get out the vote trick. I saw it as
the right thing to do," he said.

Morgan's father had emphysema and lung cancer and used
marijuana in the waning days of his life, he said. His brother
was paralyzed at 18 after a lifeguard accident and also used it
to get relief from the pain of his injury.

"I'd like to say we were that smart," said Bob Poe, manager
of Crist's fundraising committee, about the dovetailing of the
governor's race with a liberal social issue. "But I think it's a
case of, when the moon's in the 7th house and Jupiter aligns
with Mars. A lot of things have come together."